Meet Jiří Menzel? One of the biggest wins of my life, says ‘Otík’ János Bán | Culture

PRAGUE The Hungarian actor János Bán became famous in the Czech Republic for the role of the racer Otík Rákosník in the comedy Vesničko má středisková from 1985. He is shaken by the death of Jiří Menzel. “He said that he has two very good Hungarian friends,” he declares in a short interview for the Lidovky.cz server.

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János Bán met Jiří Menzel for the first time during the filming of Lívia Gyarmathyová Every Wednesday (Minden szerdán), in which Menzel played one of the supporting roles. Later, they met while working at the József Katona Theater in Budapest and again played together in Gyula Maár’s film. Game in the clouds (Cloud Game).

Today, Bán, 64, still makes a living as an actor. Among his latest major achievements is the Hungarian action comedy Argo 2 (2015) a fantasy komedie Lisa, the fox fairy (2015).

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Lidovky.cz: How did Jiří Menzel’s death affect you?
I was more or less ready for it, yet it shook me deeply. I could talk for hours about our shared experiences, but now I am not capable of that. We lost one of the most important film directors in the world.

Lidovky: Do you remember how you met?
We have known each other since 1978, and regardless of the distance between us, a deep human bond has developed. Being able to meet Mr. Menzel is one of the biggest wins of my life.

Lidovky: Did you have a friendship?
He said that he had two very good Hungarian friends: István Szabó and me, which is a great honor for me. Although we both traveled a lot, we were able to stay in touch. I lost not only my mentor and teacher, but also my friend. I’m very sad.

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